Tracy’s Reviews – Page 5 – Flippin' Pages Book Reviews

A Scoundrel for the Suffragist by Melissa Oliver

Series: The Disreputable Marsden Brothers

Release Date: February 24, 2026

Cecily Duddlecott is not your typical Victorian heroine; she was one of the first women admitted into Oxford and is a pioneer in the suffragist movement as a founding member of the Women’s Enlightened Reform Movement (TWERM) which supports the right to education for all women. She is passionate about education, but after a scandal that forced her to leave Oxford before she earned her degree, she had to return to her brother’s home and tried to give the appearance of conformity. It isn’t until her brother marries that things become difficult and her brother pushes her to marry newspaper mogul Samuel Millington. And if that was not enough, her best friend’s annoying brother-in-law, Dominic Marsden, seems to be stalking her!

After being raised as golden boys of the ton, only to be cast out of society after their father died and the truth of his bigamist marriage to their mother came to light, Dominic “Dom” Marsden and his brothers lost everything. But instead of giving up, the brothers fought back and created an empire of their own in the form of Trium Impiorum, an exclusive and wildly successful gaming club, and Dominic enjoys his new persona of scoundrel. The last thing he expected was to be dragged into service of the Intelligence Office, Sir Algernon Pendle has commanded Dom to keep his eye on Cecily, as her brother is a known cohort of Samuel Millington, who is suspected of treason. But Dominic never anticipated developing feelings for Cecily or that she would insist on putting herself in harm’s way to help him complete his mission.

I am not sure how I feel about this story; I liked the idea of the book and found both Dominic and Cecily to be relatable and likable. But I struggled to stay immersed in the story due to the author’s use of overly descriptive explanations, for example, there is almost a whole chapter about how to play the game of Loo, while interesting, this information did nothing to move the story along and was boring. There are other instances of this throughout the book, and it made it hard for me to stay focused on the real story. This book has a bit of mystery, a bit of spice, a smart and strong heroine, a hero with a true heart of gold, a book that has been thoroughly researched, a surprise twist and finally a happily ever after. Overall, I liked the story and found some of the history to be very interesting, so while I am glad, I read the book, I don’t think I would read it again. This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

The Halifax Hellions by Alexandra Vasti

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Halifax Hellions 1 & 2

Release Date: February 17, 2026

In this novella duology, The Earl of Warren’s sisters have taken London by storm or rather they have caused a storm of gossip. Lady Margeret “Margo” and her twin sister Lady Matilda “Tillie/Mattie” have been causing scandals for years and earning themselves the moniker “The Halifax Hellions”. But there is a method to their madness and while they have been outrageous and seemingly have no regard for society at large, they are fiercely loyal to each other and despite gossip to the contrary, they truly do have hearts of gold. They have always stood together, so when Matilda runs off, of course Margo is going after her. Let the adventures begin!

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation – 4 stars: When Matilda leaves Margo a note stating that she is eloping, Margo decides to go after her, but she isn’t foolish enough to go alone. But with their brother away in Wales, Margo must turn to her brother’s best friend, Henry Mortimer for assistance. Henry has been in love with Margo for years, but he knows she is way out of his league as she is a heiress and he is a mere solicitor. After initially refusing to chase after Matilda with Margo, he changes his mind and they set off. For the first time ever, Henry has Margo’s undivided attention and maybe, just maybe, they will find more than Margo’s missing sister.

In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint – 3 stars: When Christian de Bord, the Marquess of Ashford confronts Matilda about losing his sister’s art tutor thanks to an erotic pamphlet that she illustrated that features him. Christian has been the subject of gossip for years, thanks to the death of his wife and his proclivities during his university days, but this time the gossip affected his sister and that he can’t abide. Mattie offers to tutor his sister herself and isn’t taking no for an answer. She has the best of intentions but can’t deny she is attracted to Christian and shares his “supposedly” former proclivities, and wouldn’t be opposed to exploring that attraction, too bad Christian doesn’t agree. But Mattie is not a quitter and knows she can help Christian’s sister and Christian move beyond their tragic past and find happiness.

I enjoyed both of these novellas, but I wish all three sibling’s stories had been included in this book. Overall, I think Margo’s could have been a bit longer and I wish Mattie’s had actually had scenes featuring Christian’s “proclivities” rather than skimming over the subject and that it had been a little faster paced, but I did appreciate the addition of an epilogue. This is definitely a “contemporary in period dress” type of historical, as it is clear that the protocols and etiquette of the era were not adhered to, but it was still a fun story, and I would be happy to recommend this book to my fellow HR readers. *Note – both of these novellas were previously released but have been updated to include an epilogue*

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

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